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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · chip · mouse · degree · chair · hide · rule · content

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. degree — temperature
  4. content — happy
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. degree — an amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rule — a law
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rule — government
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. pit — a hole
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. chip — for betting
  23. degree — from a university
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com